No record of having a job

Hello, I hope you are well. I am new to this forum.

I have been unemployed for over 10 years due to health problems. I receive NI credits to get a pension if I live to reach retirement. I don't receive any other benefits and live with relatives.

A disability friendly employer has offered a job working online as a temp for a couple of months, conditional on references.

I contacted my last job's HR who said that due to data protection they don't keep past employee records for longer than several years after an employee has left.

There is literally no record that I have ever worked which is upsetting as I worked for a number of years at different jobs. I have P45s and P60s with limited details but no accurate references. Has anyone had a similar problem getting references of past jobs? Any advice on what I could do would be really appreciated

Thanks.